The Black Puma -There Is NO Argument Against -Updated

The sub-heading to that should be: "If You Disagree You Are An Idiot -Go Away!"

Over the years I have received letters, telephone calls and then faxes and emails all from people who are almost rabid in their foot-stomping demands that I withdraw any comment that uses the words "black puma". They do rant and rave but the fact is that they are idiots. I am no lonbger polite to them because they are being unscientific and have done no research. The intention is hidden but it usually is this: admit that you are wrong. There are no black pumas. Science does not support that statement. Now, if you say you are wrong -and I have seen people in the past cower to the bullying and doing so- then that 'proves' there are no "big black cats" in the UK countryside despite hundreds of reports from zoologists, veterinarians, wildlife officers, police officers -I'll leave it at that.

 I should point out that I have the report from a very well respected senior zoologist who observed a black puma -including facial markings- at very close quarters. I may publish this one day as according to zoologists I have spoken to the man in question was beyond reproach and had actually dealt with pumas as a consultant in the US and Canada. 

 I also note that there is absolutely no scientific or biological reason why a puma should not be black -this is just a silly diversionary argument created by idiots to 'prove' pumas are not the 'big cats' seen in the UK. There is a certain degree of idiocy involved in the non-melanism argument with certain American factions.

 This was forwarded to Prof. A Street-Perrott and myself by Helen McGinnis of the Eastern Cougar Foundation in 2005. Images I have added:

"This is by far the most authoritative work on black pumas.  Here is the entire chapter.  It is accompanied by 5 photos.  The first is an 1781 illustration from Buffon.  You can see this by going to the Eastern Cougar Foundation's website, www.easterncougar.org.  Click on "About Eastern Cougars."  You can have an enlarged view of the old manuscript by double-clicking on the image.  It is interesting that this picture shows the cat with pale undersides, which I suspect is true of the very few Latin American pumas which may exist or at least used to exist.

"There is also a picture of a drawing of Felis nigra from Sir William Jardine, 1834 (above).  It's a much better drawing, but it's all black.  There photos of a black leopard and a black jaguar, and the picture of the dead melanistic puma killed in Costa Rica (see below).  That picture, of the dead animal hanging, has already been posted in the Photo section.

Tinsley, Jim Bob.  1987.  The Puma: Legendary Lion of the Americas.  University of Texas at El Paso.  142 pp

 
CHAPTER 9:  Black Panther Controversy.


Originally, the name panther was applied only to the Afro-Asian leopard, with both names being used interchangeably for centuries. The occasional black-phase leopard was customarily referred to as a black panther. Today the term is loosely applied to all large black cats in the Americas, and especially to the rare melanistic puma that inherited the name "panther" in some areas regardless of color.

The black leopard is not a distinct species but a mutation, or color irregularity, that may occur within litters. Although appearing completely black, the animal has the normal spotted pattern faintly visible through the prevailing melanism. Black male and black female leopards are known to breed true. One such pair in- the National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C., produced nothing but black kittens in numerous litters.

Large black cats were known by some of the earliest travelers in America and were mentioned under a variety of names. The jaguarete of Brazil was briefly described posthumously by Georg Marcgrave in 1648 as a shiny black cat mixed with shadows and variegated with black spots.1 This became the once from Guyana, noted by chevalier Desmarchais in 1731,2 and the Felis nigra or Tigris nigra in 17613.

Étienne Renard Desmarchais, chevalier, was captain of the frigate 1'Expérience in the service of the India Company. He sailed from Lorient in 1724 to Cayenne on the South American coast, returning in 1726. His memoirs were published posthumously by Jean Labat.

Thomas Pennant, British naturalist, figured and described the "Black Tiger" of Brazil and Guyana in 1771 as a scarce species the size of a year-old heifer and generally plain black in color with whitish or ashen underparts.4 German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel Schreber figured the same animal in 1775 and described it three years later under the scientific name Felis discolor. He included the jaguarete in the new species, but stated that Der schwarze Tiger seen by Desmarchais and Pennant had no discernible black spots.

above: illustration of a black puma shot in the mid 1800s

British zoologist Robert Kerr attempted to systematize the type under the name Felis discolor, but included both the black jaguar and the black puma. He described the hair of the animal as short, very smooth, and of a brownish color. "The animal is mostly of a uniform colour, but is sometimes marked with spots of a full black colour," he added.

The black variety of the jaguar, commonly known in South America as the tigre negro or onca prieta, occurs infrequently throughout its range. In Guyana it is known as the "Maipuri tiger." Although the color appears a uniform black, the typical dotted rosettes are discernible under certain light conditions.

The black puma is probably the rarest of all black cats. Comte de Buffon wrote that a variety, called the black tiger, inhabited America. He renamed it the black couguar. A wretched drawing in his book poorly represents the true beauty of the handsome beast. Buffon recognized the animal as different from the black jaguar with a smaller and thinner body, and said that it was very rare in the neighborhood of Cayenne. Regarding the name jaguarete, Buffon wrote: "The black couguar may be the same animal which Piso and Marcgrave call the jaguarete, or jaguar with black hair.

Scottish naturalist Sir William Jardine mentions the chat negre or el negro of Paraguay as possible synonyms of his black puma. His accompanying illustration is much more detailed and recognizable than that of Buffon, and was drawn from three specimens taken to Greenock, Scotland, on a merchant vessel.

In his economic geography of Nicaragua, Pablo Lévy applied the name Felis concolor niger Cuvier to "el Tigre Negro" of that country and said that it was ferocious but rare.

A Canadian sportsman, William Thomson, killed a black puma in 1843, while he was on a 250-mile muleback journey from the province of Rio de Janeiro to the Carandai River in Brazil. His account aptly describes the rare cat: "The whole head, back, and sides, and even the tail, were glossy black, while the throat, belly, and inner surfaces of the legs were shaded off to a stone-gray."

British adventurer Frederick Boyle traveled unsettled jungle portions of Costa Rica in 1866 by floating numerous wilderness waterways. At the remote hacienda La Virgen on the Rio Sarapiqui¢, Boyle and a companion spent considerable time with an enterprising stockman who was extremely knowledgeable on the puma and jaguar, and who had made the dangerous hunting of the two maurauders appealing to the natives by initiating his own bounty system. Following a lengthy discussion on the two animals, Boyle wrote about the black puma:

"We have diverged to the subject of black lions, an animal whose existence has been denied. The ranchero had nothing decisive to advance on this disputed question. He heard with astonishment and contempt that European savants doubted. Black pumas, he alleged, are as well authenticated as black jaguars. He had never killed one. Such skins as had come beneath his notice were very large truly. But he laughed scornfully at the idea that any woodsman could make a mistake."

The black puma, or pantera negra, appear indistinctly in the zones of the Atlantic and Pacific in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and is very difficult to hunt.12 A California sportsman, Leon T. Mott, in personal correspondence with the author, wrote that he saw black pumas while he was riding a bobbing pipante down the Coco and Wawa rivers in Nicaragua in 1957. Knowing that the black variety of the puma has long been questionable, Mott added: "I examined some skins and it is my opinion that this Central American variety is, in fact, a black puma or panther--I could not discern any jaguar markings in or under the fur."

Neal Griffith Smith, zoologist with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in the Canal Zone, says the melanic forms of the puma are not infrequently shot in the Republic of Panama, and that in most cases the animals were hunting cattle.

It has been reported that Indian warriors of the Argentine pampas were once baptized with the smoking blood of animals and given animal names. One such name was Cadupani, translated as "black lion."

The black panther controversy in North America has been threefold mainly, with the general public misunderstanding the dual application of the name, denials that black pumas exist, and the diametrically opposing belief that they frequently occur in the United States. It is just another one of the many inconsistencies in the convictions of observers regarding the beast.

In an early history of the state of Maine, William D. Williamson wrote that three species of cats were found in the forests, identifying them as the catamount, wild-cat, and black cat. He was quite explicit in his description of the last named: "The Black Cat is much larger in size than the wild-cat, very ravenous and fierce, has shorter legs and a long tail, and is of a black colour; called by the natives Wooleneag."

Puma researcher Bruce Wright lists twenty specimens of black Felis concolor reported by observers in New Brunswick, Quebec, and Nova Scotia between 1 September 1951 and 2 August 1970. He states that although no North American specimen has ever been collected, he has no alternative but to accept the word of eye witnesses.17

A black puma has never been authentically recorded in North America despite reports and newspaper accounts to the contrary that tell of sightings year after year. Many persons believe that all American panthers must be black because of the widespread acceptance of the name panther in association with the color. Here is an exotic animal of mystery and intrigue that borders on the sensational and it is the subject of fables and superstitions that befit any cat that is black.

Typical of the publicity and general confidence of the reality of wild black panthers the United States is a headline from a Pennsylvania newspaper that minimizes the extremely rare possibility that an animal allegedly seen might have truly been black:

That Black Panther Prowling in the South East Area Is in the "Spotlight" Again

It is interesting to note that the attention the newspaper reader is directed to "spotlight rather than to the word black.

Florida has newspaper accounts of wild black panther sightings every year from all section, the state where the ordinary tawny-colored panther draws little attention from the public. Game officials insist that no black ones exist the state and that persons are seeing instead large feral house cats that increase in size through fright or excitement of observers, large dark-colored dogs that reverted to wildness, large otters temporarily blackish from dampness, or the least likely possibility of a black-phase leopard escaped from a carnival, zoo, or side show. Other alternatives are that people are inventing reports to gain publicity or that they are viewing normal-colored panthers in dim light or individuals with wet fur.

Naturalist Thomas Barbour notes the collecting of a young "black panther" skin from Matecumbe Key, Florida, by Alexander Sprunt, Jr., and states that other melanistic individuals have occurred on other islands in the chain.19  Sprunt first saw the hide nailed to a barn door in the Florida Keys in 1927. He identified it as a black panther and communicated the information to E.D. Chamberlain of the Charleston Museum who purchased the skin and presented it to the institution in 1957. Wanting to obtain a positive identification of the specimen, E. Milby Burton, director of the Charleston Museum, sent the skin to the U.S. Museum the following year. In a letter dated 9 October 1958, Dr. David H. Johnson, curator, Division of Mammals, respectfully labeled the supposed black panther pelt as a greatly stretched skin of a large house cat beyond any doubt.

All reports of blackish cat-like animals in Florida cannot be discounted, however. Some sightings of dark long-tailed cats slightly larger than the domestic variety strongly suggest the jaguarundi, an import from the Americas to the south. A few of these "panther-like" animals are known to have been released in the Hills-borough River State Park and in the Chiefland area around 1941.21 Dr. Wilfred T. Neill, who directed a biological research project for the Ross Allen Reptile Institute at Silver Springs for over a decade, collected the first Florida jaguarundi specimen to reach a scientific collection from near Lake Placid in Highlands County. The young animal had been hit by a car and was found dead on the highway.

Less likely is the remote possibility that instead of seeing black panthers, observers in Florida are seeing "black wildcats." According to John Paradiso, in 1973 only four melanistic bobcats had been recorded in literature and from nowhere else in North America except Florida. Paradiso examined a live black bobcat that had been captured in the town of Loughman in Polk County in the latter part of October 1970. He estimated the prime-condition specimen to be no more than two-and-a-half years old and gave a description of its coloration:

"At a distance of 2 ½ feet or more, it does appear to be entirely black, but at closer range it can be seen that the belly and legs are actually mahogany in coloration. Also, at close range a few white hairs are visible, scattered over the entire body. When viewed at certain angles, a trace of spotting on the sides and banding on the legs is faintly evident."

It has been noted earlier in a description of a melanistic specimen that the Florida bobcat was the darkest form of the genus, and also that a moist tropic or subtropic climate was probably an essential condition for melanism in them, as well as in all other members of the cat family.

Bruce A. Hartman of West Jordan, Utah, killed what some writers have called a black cougar on 8 December 1912 near Cochetopa Creek south of Gunnison, Colorado. He told the author in a conversation that the animal was not pure black, but was the darkest he had ever seen.

A "black panther" seen by a Negro cook on a ranch in southern Arizona was probably a jaguar. The animal was tracked down and mortally wounded by ranch hands but was not found until nine days later in the advanced stages of decomposition. The cowboys were sure that the specimen had been a rare mutation of the Mexican jaguar that had drifted across the border.
 
The black puma is real in certain parts of Central and South America, but if it occurs in North America, no qualified authority has seen one. Nor has anyone offered a dead specimen, pelt, or photograph as evidence of the numerous claims of a black North American puma. It is not impossible for them to have occurred, or to occur in the future, however. But until one is positively identified, the elusive creature must continue to blend with the obscure darkness of the unknown.

 

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If anyone knows how to see a copy of this video get in touch -as this was from 2000 even the very poor quality still is lost but it did show what appeared to be a black cat.

Video of 'black cougar' intrigues state biologists

By Steven A. Capps in the Sacabee News December 3 rd, 2000

View video
Like a four-legged version of the fabled Bigfoot, black mountain lions are the stuff of popular legend.

Scores of people claimed to have come upon the mysterious, jet-black animals in the Western Hemisphere during the last couple of hundred years. These days, people even post alleged sightings on the Internet.

Scientists, however, have yet to get a single piece of physical evidence, such as the body of a dead one or even a clear photograph, and remain skeptical that such an animal exists.

But now state biologists have looked into reports from homeowners in San Luis Obispo County who claim to have seen repeatedly what looked like a black mountain lion stalking prey in a field across from their rural housing development. And this time, they have video.

A homeowner in the area said he captured the animal on videotape several times, and provided the video to the state Department of Fish and Game, which brought in a lion expert from the University of California, Davis, to join the department's own biologists for a video viewing.

The video is shot at extremely long range, so it is hard to make out details - much like the famous footage of an alleged Bigfoot sighting 30 years ago - but it's sufficiently clear that it has biologists stroking their chins with curiosity.

"The video is very persuasive but it's not definitive," said Lee Fitzhugh, the mountain lion expert with the UC-Davis co-operative extension.

Dr. Ben Gonzales, a wildlife veterinarian with the state Department of Fish and Game, reviewed the videotape with colleagues in Sacramento and pronounced it "pretty indefinite."

"You've seen those videotapes of 'Bigfoot,' " he said. "They're blurry and distant. It's like that. You just can't tell."

But Steve Torres, a senior biologist who directs mountain lion research for the department, said that while the video was "inconclusive," he would not dismiss the notion that there may be black mountain lions, or that the film depicts one.

"There's often color morphs that are anomalies in wildlife populations, such as albinism or melanism, which is an extremely dark animal, like you'll see in a squirrel once in a while and other animals," he said.

"With respect to cougars, it's something that could happen in a natural context, but I'm sure it would be extremely rare. You can't rule it out," he said.

Dale Woodson is the man who first saw the creature and shot the video. He said he was forced to shoot it at long range because he's afraid.

"The grass is high," Woodson said. "You can barely see (the animal's) head through the grass. The thought occurred to me that it's probably not the wisest place to be."

His 9-year-old daughter, who used to play with her friend on the grassy hillside near the Woodson home, is now under orders to stay away.

Woodson said he has seen the animal seven times, the first time last summer, the morning after he had noticed a small herd of deer bedding down on the hillside. Deer are a main food source for cougars, which are a protected species in California. "I was making a phone call," Woodson recalled. "It was early in the morning, about 7 o'clock, and I saw the silhouette of a cat as it was moving up the ridgeline.

"I looked at it and instantly knew that it was something I'd never seen before. So I ran inside and got my wife and daughter up and dragged them to the window so they could confirm it.

"I looked at it and thought, 'My gosh, a mountain lion.' I gave the binoculars to my wife and it was she that first called out and said, 'That's not a mountain lion. Mountain lions are kind of a gold color. This one is pitch-black.' And I grabbed the binoculars and said, 'Yeah, you're right.' "

He ran and got his video camera, but said he was only able to shoot about four seconds before the camera's battery went dead. The next time he saw the animal -- about two days later -- he said he was prepared with a new battery.

"On the second time, I captured about 15 seconds' worth of video," Woodson said. He alerted his neighbors, two of whom also have told him that they have seen the animal, one just about a month ago.

"It's no little kitty," said Mitch King, who lives across the street from Woodson and said he saw the animal once.

"It's some kind of cat. It's got that flat face. And it's got a big, long tail," King said.

Fitzhugh said Woodson's videotape appeared to have been enhanced to make the cat easier to see.

"To my mind, there was a little bit of a question there with the quality of the original footage and what he had been able to do afterwards," Fitzhugh said. "But I can't say that there's really evidence that he doctored the picture or anything."

Woodson said he did not enhance the video. "I don't have the tools to do that - and if I did, I wouldn't even know how," he said. After he made the second video, Woodson contacted authorities, including the local Department of Fish and Game biologist, Bob Stafford, who was the first to see the video.

The video shows "what certainly seems like a very large black cat," Stafford said.

The animal is shown on the dry, grassy hillside walking between two oak trees. By comparing the animal to the oak trees, it is clear the animal is quite large, at least 120 pounds, Woodson said.

Stafford and Woodson discussed several explanations, including that the animal might be a rare form of black mountain lion not previously known. They also discussed another possibility: The area is about 30 miles east of Hearst Castle, where newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst was known to have kept exotic animals.

"It's very plausible that old man Hearst, with his three-ring circus over there, had an escapee over the years," Woodson said.

Fitzhugh said it's possible, although unlikely, that such an animal could breed with a mountain lion to create a darker hybrid. Hearst maintained a large zoo on his vast property from the late 1920s to the mid-1930s. "I seem to recall that he had a black panther," said John Horn, a historian with the Hearst Castle park.

A lot of the animals were allowed to roam free on part of the property. Some escaped into the wild and have established populations that continue to thrive, including zebra, he said. But carnivores weren't allowed outside, Horn said, and "there's no documentation that (the black panther) ever escaped."

The Department of Fish and Game has no plans to further investigate the sighting - unless the animal acts in a threatening manner, such as moving into a neighborhood close to people or acting in a menacing manner toward humans or livestock. "Then we would go back and try and find it," said Stafford.

Much like the intrigue surrounding Bigfoot, the elusive man-ape creature that some claim roams the wilds of Northern California, there is a mystique about black mountain lions that has caught the attention of people.

So you would think there would be proof, said Fitzhugh.

"When you look at the number of lions that were bountied in the bounty years and the number killed by sportsmen in other states over all the years," Fitzhugh said, "we're talking about tens of thousands of mountain lions that have been killed, and brought in and looked at -- and not a single black one."

Sacabee News, December 3 rd, 2000

 

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Black (Melanistic) Puma?

 

Of course, the 'experts' ("X" =The Unknown and "spurt" is a drip under pressure) say "impossible!" when it comes to a black puma. Because they have not read about one and they offer up all reasons WHY a puma like look black but is not -wet fur is usually a good one.

I have, in over three decades, spoken to people who have seen "the black panther" on the loose in the UK.  They were close enough to give very clear descriptions.  But while talking to them my mind was asking "What the hell are they talking about?"

You see, a puma looks different to a leopard -black or otherwise.  So when observers add details that we naturalists call "pointers" (they help identify an animal) and you question them on these and you ask "Are you sure it was not just very dark grey -in the light the fur--" and a rather indignant response is: "Excuse me. It was ten feet from me in broad daylight and I have perfectly good eye-sight" then you have to conclude that they saw a black puma.

I can hear the idiots screaming "NO SUCH THING!!" right now.

People talked to me about the "that puma" others have seen and give perfect descriptions of a melanistic leopard (or "panther"). That is acceptable.

Whether farmer, police officers, members of the Armed Forces, doctors, nurses, naturalists and zoologists -whoever, so long as they report black leopards no problem. But a black puma? No, no, no, no!

I received a phone call one day from a man who was driving through a Welsh border area and took a wrong turning.  As he slowed to try and turn on the dual carriageway he stopped the car.  Several yards ahead of him, in the clearest conditions possible was a large black cat.  The cat stood and looked at the driver before moving over the central road barrier and away.  The man immediately got out of the car and walked slowly to where the cat had stood (next to the central road barrier) and used a tape measure to get length, height, etc.  The man made a few enquiries and the local police gave him my contact details.

I spoke to the man who told me the size and estimated weight of the "melanistic puma" which was odd because most observers never say "melanistic" just black.  I checked with a biologist who was interested in UK cat sightings.  He laughed and said the man had obviously seen a panther and assumed that it was a puma.  I was told to explain to him why it could not be a puma.

So, I called back the observer and explained what the biologist had said. I won't give his exact words but he pointed out that had it been a panther he would never have gotten out of the car to take the measurements.  I pointed out that it was difficult to get anyone to believe that there were black pumas was there even the possibility of mistake?  There wasn't.  The man described the facil markings of the puma and point-for-point all the pointers.

I was told that a letter was on its way to me with all the details.  I was then told the observers full name -I only had his surname at first.  He was a Professor, a senior lecturer in zoology and biology and had workede at very well known universities and had done work in the United States and Canada -the latter involved work with pumas. He had also been a UK government advisor and when I heard his full name (I'm still waiting to hear whether I can give it in a book I'm working on) I think the blood drained from my face because he was very reputable.  I was asked to get the biologist to phone him if he doubted the Professor's word.  I certainly did not.  The biologist?  Apparently insisted it "must be a leopard" but refused to contact the professor to correct him.

I really have no idea why certain people will scream til dooms-day that you cannot have a melanistic puma.  There is no scientific reason why there should not be and melanism occurs in pumas in certain regions -where they were trapped and transported to the UK/Europe for zoological gardens as well as travelling menageries.

Even old hunters noted shooting black pumas in South America and give very good descriptions -this was "sport" shooting and before handy carry-anywhere cameras but some had detailed sketches made.  If a hunter(s) who hunted and knew pumas from the United States says they shot a black puma then I believe it.  There is absolutely no reason why they would lie about it because it was no big thing, just "another cat" and so what if it was black?  They were interested in telling how they lay in wait or came across the cat and killed it, weighed it and measured it and that's it.  Somewhere in a private collection there may well be a mounted head or stuffed puma gathering dust.

Thousands hunted and shot cats and there is no problem until some know-it-all jackanape's today says "NO! It could not be black!!"

After all, there are very dark brown pumas around and some in zoos.  Citing and continuing to pass along dogma is NOT science.  It is stupidity.  Let's not get into a long list of what top zoologists said were "absolutely impossible" but then turned out not to be.

And the photo above is not photo-shopped.  It is of a genuine very dark brown leopard though it is being used and cited as a very dark brown puma and this one is in a recognised US zoological garden.

 Georges Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, in his Histoire Naturelle (printed in multiple volumes from 1749 onwards), wrote of the "Black Cougar": "M. de la Borde, King’s physician at Cayenne, informs me, that in the [South American] Continent there are three species of rapacious animals; that the first is the jaguar, which is called the tiger; that the second is the couguar [sic], called the red tiger, on account of the uniform redness of his hair; that the jaguar is of the size of a large bull-dog, and weighs about 200 pounds; that the couguar is smaller, less dangerous, and not so frequent in the neighbourhood of Cayenne as the jaguar; and that both these animals take six years in acquiring their full growth. He adds, that there is a third species in these countries, called the black tiger, of which we have given a figure under the appellation of the black couguar.

"The head is pretty similar to that of the common couguar; but the animal has long black hair, and likewise a long tail, with strong whiskers. He weighs not above forty pounds. The female brings forth her young in the hollows of old trees." This black couguar may be the same animal which Piso and Marcgrave call the jaguarette, or jaguar with black hair, and which no other traveller has mentioned under the name of jaguarette. I only find, in a note of M. Sonini de Manoncour, that the jaguarette is called the black tiger at Cayenne, and that he is of a different species from the jaguar, being smaller, and thinner in the body. This animal is fierce and rapacious; but he is very rare in the neighbourhood of Cayenne."

Mr Pennant offers an additional and more accurate description of the black cougar, though different from that of M. de la Borde: "Black tiger, or cat, with the head black, sides, fore part of the legs, and the tail, covered with short and very glossy hairs, of a dusky colour, sometimes spotted with black, but generally plain: Upper lips white: At the corner of the mouth a black spot: Long hairs above each eye, and long whiskers on the upper lip: Lower lip, throat, belly, and the inside of the legs, whitish, or very pale ash-colour: Paws white: Ears pointed: Grows to the size of a heifer of a year old: Has vast strength in its limbs.-- Inhabits Brasil and Guiana: Is a cruel and fierce beast; much dreaded by the Indians; but happily is a scarce species;" (Pennant's Synops. of quad. p 180).

According to translator Smellie in 1781, and of course there has to be a “however”, this description was taken from two black cougars which were shown in London some years previously (though these were most probably black leopards brought back from India.

If you still insist melanistic pumas are "impossible" then go away and find a melanistic woodlouse -or just shut up and stay in your room.

ADDENDA: 

Yesterday the Felidae Conservation Trust posted this:

"Do black panthers exist? The answer is NO! Panthera is actually the name of a genus and not a species. What are commonly misidentified as “black panthers” are melanistic (increased pigmentation of skin or fur) leopards or jaguars, which only occur about 5% of the time! Also, because "panther" is sometimes used to describe what is actually a puma, the myth of the black puma is perpetrated. So though black panthers and pumas don’t exist, seeing a melanistic leopard or jaguar is a rare but possible sight. To read more, visit: https://blog.nwf.org/.../excited-about-black-panther-are-we/ #BlackPanther"

My response was long winded as usual:

"I am going to have to be awkward and disagree. 

Firstly melanistic leopards. There are more sighted in Africa and India now and as for rarity; British wildlife parks have the four main cats on show (in pairs) -lynx, wild cat (F silvestris), puma and black leopard. Until I carried out research I had also assumed black leopards would not be so common but when almost every UK (and some European) wildlife parks and zoos have pairs -where are they coming from? 

The argument against black pumas has been muddied over the decades. They were reported regularly and even painted by well known naturalists as well as puma hunters up until the end of the 19th century. The whole matter was, as is usual, overtaken by dogma. So-and-so had not seen one therefore they did not exist. I was not willing to accept black pumas (being a good little field naturalist) until I scoured the newspaper archives and very old books. Some of my notes are presented in this blog post if anyone is interested:(link to this post)"

Today I got this response which kind of cancels out their argument?

Hélène Simon

"Terry Hooper no black puma was examined by a scientist, but they may exist indeed. We have possible photographs... Discussed as its underside remains lighter...but melanistic asian golden cats sometimes retain their light underside, why not pumas ? As for the number of black leopards in captivity : selective breeding. And wrong numbers. 6% of wild jaguars are black. For leopards, it vary between countries. They're very rare in northern subspecies and savannah environnement, much more present in jungles : about 50% in Java, 90% in southern Malaysia !"

Bristol Foxes and Foxes Nationally

 It appears that a newer survey of foxes in the Bristol area is needed. As I noted in The Red Paper: Canids I began my fox project in the 1970s and that was after observing a huge tom cat chasing a fox along Pennywell Road early one morning. 

Since that time I have had first hand experience in observing interactions between foxes and cats, hedgehogs and even magpies and seagulls. The fox is never the aggressor and never comes out of the situations well.

I have seen a pair of adult foxes kept at bay by a large hedgehog taking its fill of food. I have seen hedgehogs "allowing" a fox to eat next to it. I have seen the semi wild cat that covers the few gardens near me chase after foxes and even jump onto the back of one -and attempting a nape of neck bite! Several times I have had to intervene as a fox has been cornered by a cat and attacked. Not exactly the cunning, devious killer some of us were told the species was.

From the 1970s on I found that no one was really interested in foxes and books on them were rare (I have a neart little collection) though there are hundreds on how to hunt and kill foxes and on the great "fox sports hunters" of the 18th-20th century. Come TV and a few more get involved though, sadly most leave the subject through boredom or frustration at the lack of financial reward or funding (I have spent a good few thousand since the 1970s!).

What I want to do is take a look at foxes in Bristol now -people contributing information, etc may do so and request anonymity (but to stop fakers or hoaxers I need to know who they are). This is not a survey for hunting or pointless 'pest control'; this is part of a long term study because foxes are still not fully understood and there is the need to educate the public on foxes.

How can you help? Whether a wildlife group or just someone interested here is what you can help with (and as this is an ongoing project those from outside Bristol can still add to our knowledge):

 Fox Study Project 

I am looking for:

(1) Photographs of foxes that people see in their gardens or while out walking.  This is so that I can see what colour coats and tail markings foxes have in different areas of the country.

(2) Information on whether foxes in your area have been hit by mange at any point and what happened to the fox (if known)

(3) If you have foxes in your area and whether local people are feeding them.

Again: Please note that when you do get in touch I will need to know at least the street and town you live in. This is due to hoaxing in the past.

That is how simple it is to help broaden our knowledge of foxes in Bristol (and the UK) so if you can contribute please do.

THANK YOU

Could this be a raccoon dog?

Updated 15:42, 26 Sep 2014

By Michael Marsh

Unidentified creature could be Tyneside's answer to the Abominable Snowman. Or it could be a badger. What do you think?

Newcastle Chronicle 

Mystery: Racoon Dog spotted in Newcastle

Is it a dog, a badger or an old fox? Or Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy?

Well, experts think this is the first sighti

ng of a raccoon or a raccoon dog roaming free on Tyneside. Raccoons are usually found in North America, while raccoon dogs - also known as the mangut or tanuki - are indigenous to East Asia and slightly portlier.

Wildlife experts believe it is the first recorded sighting of the wild beast in the area.

Our sister paper The Chronicle reports Tom Hughes, 22, was running through the grounds of Wallsend Hall at around 7am when something caught his eye.

He said: "I was running along and came across this curious creature.

"At first I thought it was a badger but its unusual facial markings made me think it was a raccoon.

"It was big and stocky, but very placid and didn't seem to be in a hurry to get anywhere."

Tom, who lives in Howdon, near Wallsend, is training to be in the Navy.

He said he hasn't seen anything like this before but hoped to raise some  awareness of the creature being out there.

"I wasn't going to go for my run on Friday morning but I'm glad I did now," he said.

"The early bird catches the worm, as they say."

What could it be? Raccoon dog

The last recorded sighting of a raccoon was in Sunderland in 2012.

They are considered dangerous with changeable temperaments, but some people are known to keep them as pets.

Following a change to the law in 2007, which removed the need for a licence, they are becoming more prominent in Britain.

Steve Lowe, head of conservation at the Northumberland Wildlife Trust based in Gosforth, Newcastle, said: "That is either a raccoon or a raccoon dog.

"Because we can't see the feet we can't be certain which.

"These are non-native animals which appear to be kept as pets. They can be aggressive so inevitably in such circumstances the owner finds them too hard to handle and abandons them.

"They are also extremely good escapologists. Two were recorded in County Durham recently but this is the first for us and not especially welcome. "

"The last record of one was in Sunderland in 2012.

"It may be the same animal although it's a stretch to say that it definitely is."

Is It A Cover Up? Yes.

 I noted before (got the fella in trouble which I felt bad about but he DID lie) I once got to visit the local DEFRA after chatting to their man who would deal with exotic animal reports. I asked if his past experience was zoos or wildlife parks? None of those so was he a biologist or zoologist? No.

How did he get to be put in charge of DWA licensing and dealing with farmers reports of predator killed livestock?

"I was sat going through some papers one day and my manager handed me a report and told me I'd be handling these now!"

A civil servant with no knowledge of animals. Anyway, I took out some plastwer casts and photos of pawprints and ran through them with him. "Oh, I recognise that one!" he said. He turned to a cupboard with map drawers in it and opened one up. Plaster casts labelled "Lynx", "Puma" and "Leopard" now I kept quiet and said nothing but had a good look at them.

Matey turns to me and asks whether my department had as many casts (there were 15-17 in the drawer)? I then asked "My department? Its a group" and he went pale and asked what group so I pulled out my EAR ID and showed him.

"You shouldn't be here!" he said as he almost pushed me out! :-)

Later I asked DEFRA about the drawer full of plaster casts and was told no such thing was held by them in Bristol. Well, firstly, DEFRA really DOES have plaster casts, photos and much more that they assess or are on record as receiving from someone. Secondly, the person I knew at DEFRA in Bristol told me all the casts were removed within 24hours...no idea where to.

Yes, it is a poor cover up but need not be. Police forces are on record as knowing these animals are out there. Ditto farmers groups including the Nat Farmers Union, naturalists, biologists and many others. But DEFRA policy is to kioll and disppose of the evidence.

UK policy has to change as do attitudes. This is 2021 not 1821.

 Talking to farmers, game and estate keepers/wardens as well as estate owners I learnt that there a brisk trade in illegal poisons (purchased on visits to Ireland then sold on in the UK) and snares. 

As a naturalist I used to ask about local wildlife. Unfortunately I was restrained under the data protection act from reporting who told me what and even a quiet word with police led to "Their word against yours".

Buzzards that were re-introduced were shot and poisoned. No differentiation between Red or Grey squirrel was made they were "all vermin" and shot and killed as soon as sighted.  Badgers were simply killed and setts destroyed -simply because they were on farmland (NO cattle as an excuse).  "If it isn't a farm animal it gets shot" I was told repeatedly. Even a dog a few feet in front of its owner and not misbehaving if near a field was a good target. 

A fruit eating lemur that got out of its owners property was shot by a farmer because it looked at his sheep (I am not joking that is the quote).  An arctic fox seen moving along the hedge;line of a farm was shot "Looked unusual. Never seen one before".  The old tired 'urban legend' of an exotic animal shot and thrown into the river or down into a cave or even thrown into undergrowth? No joke. DEFRA killing exotics and disposing of the evidence? I have the affidavits  to prove it.  The RSPCA as an organisation knowing this and turning a blind eye or helping? Fact. I doubt most of its "civilian" staff or donors know that.

Gangs known to organise illegal exotic hunts and illegal bounties -fact. 

"A nation of animal lovers"?

Until DEFRA and HMG changes it kill policy I will never present 40+ years of evidence. Here is the weird side of things; those wardens, game keepers, estate owners and even countryside shooters -they know of and protect non native cats on their properties because these cats control rabbit, rat and even foxes.

Imagine countryside B&Bs offering stays where you are guided to areas where exotics have been known to frequent -no guarantees you will see one- so you might see an arctic fox in the UK or even a lynx? 

Biggest problem: British hobby shooters who "have to" get out at least 2-3 times a week to shoot something.  Ruining their sport all of this protection -though legal protection is not stopping fox hunt workers digging out foxes for hunts.

UK policy has to change as do attitudes.

This is 2021 not 1821.

"What did you learn about Big Cats in the UK then?"

 "What did you learn about Big Cats in the UK then?"

As I keep pointing out to people there is only one member of the Big Cat family noted in the UK -Panthera pardus. The puma is a Medium Sized cat. So I learnt not to call lynx, golden cats, pumas etc "Big".

I was not just collecting newspaper clippings and jumping into local news to pose for photos holding a pair of binoculars and be called a "big cat hunter" (in fact, reporters started calling me the "Big Cat Detective" and that was picked up by radio and TV).

What did I find out about territories? Well I found out what else lived in those areas -ducks, geese, rabbits, deer etc -that there were well travelled territories cats moved around and so on.

If you know the prey then you know where the cats will go and then move on.

In Wales a situation developed where it was possible to tell whether a certain male or female puma had killed an animal -both had distinctive ways of eating (this is how we worked out the males territory). We also worked out the female was not a good mother when it came to training her young -they were "messy killers".

The index cards covering just territories and identified cat species is an inch thick of closely typed notes.

I am a naturalist not a hobbyist.

Cards also note historical and other activity up until present. For instance, it was always thought that wolverine (Gulo gulo) did not get into the UK countryside until after the 1976 Dangerous Wild Animals Act or when fur farms were made illegal. Along with the Swansea Uni team I found out that wolverines were also in 19th century travelling menageries -notorious for the number of escapes of all types of animals.

I should point out that the most common used cage opened both ways -inwards and outwards!

Since DEFRA once threatened to legally seize my records (they had no legal back-up on this and it was just a threat) I keep most details in my head so the index cards give good information but most is locked away in my head.

Also, I can distinguish between a jaguarundi, puma, panther and domestic cat which most people involved "in the business" cannot (not everyone is that bad!).

Oh, and I have all the maps to back-up the index cards.

So in response to the question asked; since 1977 I have learnt a LOT.

Feral & Hybrid Study Project -How YOU Can Help

 Most feral cats have small home ranges, although some are more transient and travel long distances. The home ranges of male feral cats, which are generally two or three times larger than those of female cats, are on average under 10 ha (25 acres or 0.0390625 ), but can vary from almost 300 ha (740 acres or 1.15625 square miles) to under 1 ha (2.5 acres or 12100 square yards).

When Bella (or as my neighbours whom she adopted call her "Tallulah") moved into the garden it was her territory and she would not go far and fought any cat or fox that encroached. Once settled in her house home next door she had a bigger area and will now go a couple houses further along. So she was dumped, looked after in my garden then became semi (and I mean semi) domesticated when she moved into next door's house.

Bella has caught pigeons -the ladies next door take them from her to fly another day- she will play with slow worms, kill rats and mice and if she got a chance would kill smaller birds. However, she is well fed these days!

Back in 1999 Margaret Roberts, then Chief Veterinarian for the Cats Protection League noted that feral cats are accused of killing birds and wild life but in fact, rather like city foxes, lived nearer to humans and spources of regular food put out by house holders whether for hedgehogs, foxes or even the cats themselves.

Feral cats living outside cities and towns or even in old industrial estates tend to live on mice, rats and birds though as I have observed a number of house cats eat moths, butterflies and other insects these are no doubt also on the menu. Rabbits are also going to be a food source.

Again, like the fox, feral AND domestic cats (though I have observed domestic cats within two feet of rats and have no idea what they should do!) keep down the rat and mouse populations effectively -which is why up until the 1980s most factories and some shops had resident "Ratter" or "Mouser" cats -the one at Poples Popular Pies/butchers in the 1960s also got its full of beetles and cockroaches.

Again, Roberts pointed out what is basic fact but tends to be deliberately ignored: there is a prey-predator ration. Plenty of food sources then the cats will breed well but there is an auto shut off point when prey are scarce and young could not be fed. Hence the differing territories. No rats or mice -go to the houses where food is put out.

It was noted early on in the study of non native cats that opportunities for food -it used to be when meat was discarded in bins after Christmas at one point- were taken as presented. Foxes featured on the menu in the countryside -observed.

This means that in assessing territories for feral cats and even hybrid cats (domestic-F. silvestris) has to be based on the same information asked in "big cat" reports: What is the area like -golf courses, woods or semi-urban; are there wild rabbits or wild fowl -there is a long list but it tells you whether it is likely that a large cat is living in an area or moving through. Along with cat territories I noted the researchers at Swansea University noted others and even found a golden cat "nest" area.

This means that if we have a new population of hybrid feral cats and the reports are widespread then it has to mean to total population is large. The so called "Hooper Cats" (this name was used by Police Forces Wildlife Crimes Officers) I am preparing a paper on, do appear to be wide spread but future field studies will be needed and that requires the setting up of trail cameras as well as relying on people around the country just interested in helping out.

Once the paper has been published the project will be more widely publicised but any and all help in the meantime is welcome.

Terry Hooper-Scharf

Feral & Hybrid Study Project

Vale Wildlife Group